The policy was published by the Texas Observer on Monday, which said that violations could result in discipline ending in termination.
A Texas state agency is being criticized for implementing transphobic policy after a dress code instructed employees to dress according to their “biological gender.”
The policy from Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, published by the Texas Observer on Monday, said that violations could result in discipline ending in termination. Miller doubled down on the policy in an interview with Spectrum News on Wednesday.
Miller said his office had complaints about gender issues that led to this specific part of the policy, according to Spectrum.
“When a man comes dressed in drag, or vice versa, it’s very disruptive, it’s not professional,” Miller said. “We want you to come looking like you’re professional and representing.”
Civil rights and advocacy groups attacked the policy as discriminatory and vaguely worded.
“This dress code policy is … the commissioner trying to move us backwards in time decades to a time when the government and private employers could try to dictate and police how people express their gender,” Brian Klosterboer, a lawyer with the ACLU of Texas, told the Washington Post.
“It’s really unfortunate seeing a government agency that should be focused on doing its job and serving the people of Texas adopt a policy that seems so inflammatory and discriminatory towards its own employees,” Klosterboer said.
Ricardo Martinez, CEO of LGBTQ advocacy group Equality Texas, told the Texas Tribune that the inaccurate language about “biological gender” — gender is a social construct, not biological — could lead to unintended enforcement.
Are women no longer allowed to wear suits? Can men wear necklaces?” Martinez said. “While this policy was clearly designed to target transgender employees, it will have a negative impact on everyone. Any policy that is designed to target a specific group degrades the whole department. Texans deserve better.”
Miller’s office pointed to his Spectrum News interview when asked for comment by Us.Mistertruth., but Miller himself took to Twitter on Wednesday to defend the policy.
“Dressing professionally and respectfully is about creating an appropriate and comfortable work environment for EVERYONE,” the tweet said. “This is common sense and common courtesy.”
The dress code comes amid continued efforts by Texas lawmakers and officials to place restrictions on transgender and queer people in the state.
Texas Republicans have sought to criminalize gender-affirming care for minors and prevent children from attending drag shows in the state.
In one Texas district, a school superintendent ordered a number of books be removed from school libraries in attempt to avoid breaking a Texas law regarding teachers addressing controversial topics with students.
The books ranged from those addressing racism to those that addressed sexual and gender identity.